Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1326455

Relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior in college students: the chain mediating role of moral elevation and interpersonal trust

Provisionally accepted
Shuanghu Fang Shuanghu Fang *wen sheng wen sheng
  • Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Prosocial behavior is defined as a conscious act performed by an individual in a social interaction that benefits others and is an important index of social development in individuals. Using a sample of 437 college students, this study investigated the relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior and the mediating roles of moral elevation and interpersonal trust. The findings revealed that the empathy and prosocial behavior of (1) college students' were significantly and positively correlated, and (2) moral elevation and interpersonal trust mediated the relationship between college students' empathy and prosocial behavior, with mediation involving three pathways: the separate mediation of empathy, the separate mediation of moral elevation, and the chain mediation of moral elevation → interpersonal trust. Therefore, to enhance the prosocial behavior of college students, focus should be placed on cultivating their moral elevation and enhancing interpersonal trust.

    Keywords: Empathy, Prosocial Behavior, Moral elevation, interpersonal trust, Chain mediation model

    Received: 23 Oct 2023; Accepted: 15 Apr 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fang and sheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shuanghu Fang, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.